How Effective Is the 1200 Calorie Diet for Weight Loss?

How Effective Is the 1200 Calorie Diet for Weight Loss?

Is the 1200 calorie diet effective? Perhaps you’ve tried several weight loss programs and been unable to lose weight, and may be skeptical about diets. You may be wondering how the 1200 calorie diet works and whether or not it will be effective. Here is a short guide explaining the 1200 calorie diet, its effectiveness and how to make the most of it.

How Does the 1200 Calorie Diet Work?

The secret to weight loss is really very simple. Burn more calories a day than you eat. The body burns calories just sitting around doing nothing. The actual number of calories the body burns depends on many factors such as height, weight and gender, but on average your body burns around 1500 calories for women and 2000 calories for men.

So, the secret to the 1200 calorie diet is that you are eating fewer calories than your body burns on a daily basis. The number 1200 is not chosen arbitrarily. This is the minimum number of calories that can be consumed and still remain healthy. Eating fewer than 1200 calories can cause a number of effects on your body. One, it will start burning away muscle. Two, it will put your body into starvation mode, lowering your metabolism.

The reasons for this are simple. If you do not eat enough calories, the body panics and starts hording any extra calories it can. Muscle burns more calories even when not in use, so by burning the muscle, the body can burn fewer calories, giving it the ability to store more fat. Eating fewer calories than on the 1200 calorie diet can actually cause you to gain more weight rather than lose it!

How to Make the 1200 Calorie Diet More Effective

The 1200 calorie diet can be effective. You will start losing weight immediately. However, this weight loss will only remain for the long term if you learn better eating habits. It is important to learn healthy eating habits on the 1200 calorie diet for a variety of reasons.

First, foods which are unhealthy often contain lots of calories. If eating high calorie foods while on the 1200 calorie diet, you will exhaust your calories early on in the day, making yourself hungry later on. This can cause irritation, fatigue and loss of energy. These factors often make it harder to stay on such a plan, even if weight loss results can be seen.

Secondly, if healthy eating habits are not learned while on the 1200 calorie diet, you will often return to your unhealthy diet once the weight loss goals have been reached. This often leads to regaining all of the lost weight and feeling a sense of frustration towards dieting in general.

Overall, the 1200 calorie diet is effective for weight loss. However, it is important to keep in mind that with any diet, a healthy lifestyle involves choosing the right foods to eat in addition to proper amounts of activity and exercise.